


In The Wilderness Again

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Gen, Post-Series, Resurrection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-12-18 06:04:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/876473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin must learn to live until his King returns</p>
            </blockquote>





	In The Wilderness Again

It was strange, at first, to be alone again, in the wilderness again. But unlike before he had a purpose. He was not just Merlin, the apple thief, he was Merlin, the greatest sorcerer who ever lived. And at first it was a comfortable loneliness. It was nice to relax without Arthur shouting for things to be cleaned and fetched and polished. Until he remembered why Arthur wasn't shouting for things to be cleaned and fetched and polished. But every day he woke, and he remembered, and every day, after lighting the fire and cleaning the floor he made his way to the lake. It was a peaceful place. The water shone with beauty, as if mirroring the king beneath the ripples. He was happy to simply wait.

Then the druid came.

"Emrys, you must be out in the world, doing things, changing things, your destiny may seem ended but it is only begun. You are trusted as caretaker of this kingdom until Arthur returns; you must look after it."

Merlin looked up at the man, his eyes shrouded in confusion, "But what if he rises."

"You will feel it Emrys, in the very core of your being, you will feel it. And you will return."

And that was how Merlin came to leave his hut by the lake and travel out into the world.

That was how he stopped the crusades. How he trained Michaelangelo to see within the marble. How he came to show Isambard Kingdom Brunel the secrets of metal working. How he fought in the trenches. How he inspired the song, 'You're the voice'.

And how, when Arthur returned he was in a flat in London preparing to perform at the theatre. The play was, in fact, one he had co-written, though the credited writers had become singular throughout the years and now simply read 'William Shakespeare'.

He was pacing, reciting his lines at the London skyline, when he felt something beyond the realms of description, something both physical and an emotion an agonisingly blissful feeling. And he knew Arthur had returned.

When he got to the lake the waters were like the open sea, waves crashed at the shore. Without really knowing why Merlin waded into the water; and the waves stopped. The waters were still and calm, until the top of a head broke the surface.

"Arthur!" Merlin cried, wading further in to greet him. And in the water they hugged, the ages merging, the true once and Future King returned.

As they broke apart Arthur looked down at Merlin and smirked, "Merlin, what on earth are you wearing?" He chuckled.


End file.
